Bible Discussion — Romans 8 (Part Two)

October 17, 2007, 3:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Bible, Chloe, Connie, David, Djere, Erin, Josh J, MC-B, Mike J, Steve, Tom  | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter in the book of Romans, Romans 8. Romans 8 Day continues!!

Again, joining us as guests are Capt. Steve Carroll, Rev. Dave Maxon, and Maj. Doug Jones!

Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50

Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40

And the book of Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
Maj. Jones:
There is now no condemnation. Satan can’t condemn. Jesus won’t condemn. We shouldn’t condemn ourselves; unfortunately, we sometimes forget that truth.

MC-B:
This would easily make my top ten list of chapters of the Bible that a Christian should be extremely familiar with.

Steve:
Freedom from the Law was one thing, but for us to be described not only as children of God, but “joint heirs with Christ,” is an unimaginable honor. We will be glorified together.

Mike:
What is the difference between foreknowing, predestining, and calling? Why does Paul draw this difference?

Pastor Dave:
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If people ever truly understood the depth of God’s love towards us, it would radically change their Christian experience in a positive way. Gone would be all those nagging thoughts — “He doesn’t love me,” “What did I do wrong to deserve this,” “What am I being punished for,” “Am I saved?” We would all walk with encouraged hearts, full of anticipation, knowing that no matter what’s around the next bend in the road, our ever-present help in time of need, the Lover of our souls, was with us.

Capt. Steve:
At night, when I am putting my son to bed, I often tell him, “Of all the little boys in the whole wide world, your Daddy loves you the best.” What am I going to say if my wife has another boy?

Erin:
What does it mean for the Spirit to intercede for us with groans?

David:
This chapter presents Christians as “spiritual” people, while Jude presents the wicked as “sensual” people. Are we being led by our senses or the Spirit? All that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — are not of the Father, but of the world (1 John 2:16).

 
WHERE IS JESUS IN THIS PASSAGE:
Capt. Steve:
“At the center of it all.” He provided the means of this new life. He Sent His Spirit, who empowers and frees us from sin’s control.

Djere:
Not condemning, rather, having set us free, He is raised from the dead!

MC-B, Connie, Pastor Dave:
Everywhere — without Him, there is no way that humanity can approach God in order to have the relationship with Him that is detailed by this passage.

Erin:
This passage is all about Paul trying to understand Jesus!

Mike:
He is the pattern for the life of this new family, the church, and the giver of the Spirit which animates the life of this new family.

Chloe, Josh:
At the right hand of God, interceding for us.

Maj. Jones:
Jesus is throughout the entire chapter, beginning with freedom from condemnation and sin, making us joint heirs of the kingdom, keeping us firmly in His hands through any and every trial.

David:
In 8:32, being delivered up for us all.

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Steve:
8:18 — “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Mike:
8:19 — “The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.”

Tom:
8:32 — “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Chloe, Pastor Dave:
8:28 — “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Erin, Connie:
8:38-39 — “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Capt. Steve:
8:6 — “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

David:
8:14 — “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Josh:
8:15 — “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ ”

Djere, MC-B:
8:31 — “What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Maj. Jones:
So many verses, so little space — verses 10, 17, 26, 28, 31, and 35-39!

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
Josh, Steve, Maj. Jones:
Verses 28-30. The word “predestined” is obviously a tricky one.

David:
Does all of creation literally feel the pain of sin?

Capt. Steve:
The whole ‘new bodies’ thing. Jesus kept His scars. Was that just a special circumstance, or can I keep mine too? I have a lot and I really like some of them.

Pastor Dave:
I think I was predestined to have difficulty understanding predestination.

Djere:
Verses 29-30; predestination in general and why Calvin was wrong.

MC-B:
In my version at least, the word “predestinate” is used a few times. I guess I’d want predestination explained in light of free will, but then that would probably be explained pretty early on during my stay.

Erin:
What does “those whom God foreknew” mean?

Mike:
The precise meaning of “flesh” for Paul. We learned in our Bible classes that it means more “earthly nature” than our actual bodies, but v. 13 does seem to imply that “the deeds of the body” are our enemies. I’d like to know what exactly Paul meant by this metaphor.

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Josh:
Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery. “Has no one condemned you? . . . Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Mike:
When you join a church, you do not belong simply to a fellowship of like-minded individuals. You become a participant in this amazing work God is doing, and a member of a new immediate and extended family, with Christ as the eldest Brother.

MC-B:
You have to die to yourself in order to be born again in the Spirit, but it’s worth it.

Maj. Jones:
God is for us!!

Pastor Dave:
In the flesh, or in the Spirit — the choice is yours. What you feed gets bigger, so choose wisely.

Erin:
Christ, if we choose to love and obey Him, demands that we no longer live in the sinful nature.

David:
If we have received God’s Spirit and renounced sin, why do we not live sinless, perfect lives from that point forward? Because all we have received is the “first fruits”; we’re still awaiting “the (full) adoption.”

Like the parable of the talents/pounds, we have been given only a portion, and we’ve only “tasted…the powers of the world to come” (Heb 6:5). We got a down payment, not the full package. We must now “occupy until he comes,” using that down payment to increase the Kingdom of God, until Jesus arrives with the full package.

Capt. Steve:
God loves us and will give us the ability to love Him back.

 
GENERAL RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE:
Steve:
All the failings and troubles in the world can be traced to the imperfection of life apart from divine union. Creation is “subjected” and its only hope for redemption is the same as ours.

Erin:
I’d like to meet Paul and absorb some of his amazing powers of reasoning — it’d probably help me get a better grade in philosophy classes.

David:
Spirit birth, flesh, predestination. A rich section with too much to cover in one week.

Pastor Dave:
Those three little words that start verse 28 (“and we know…”) are all too often forgotten. They were chosen because the truth has been proven over and over in our lives. And we know… Unfortunately we mortals quickly forget it and need to be reminded.

Mike:
The best picture of the church in all the Bible.

Capt. Steve:
Romans 8 is a portion many of us should read daily. Christians too easily become complacent and lazy. We simply stop trying to be righteous because we seem to fail so often. But holiness and freedom from the power of sin don’t come through our will or even practice. They come as we give ourselves over to the power of the Spirit to control our mind.

MC-B:
This was totally worth missing some of TBS’s morning Saved by the Bell marathon for.

 
CONCLUSION:
Steve:
A grand chapter. It starts with the wonderful truth that Christ has freed us from sin’s condemnation and an explanation of just how He did it. Next, the promise of hope and glory, revealed in the redemption of our bodies when Christ returns. And then a long and glorious ode to the all-encompassing love of Christ, which conforms us to His image and keeps us through anything.

David:
Being born of God’s Spirit makes us His responsibility but does not relieve us of our responsibility to walk in His Spirit, not in the flesh.

Pastor Dave:
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” This verse says it all…

Capt. Steve:
We need to stop making excuses.


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